Christians rally in Gujarat to mark feast of christ, the king

Thousands of Christians participated in a grand procession on Sunday evening to mark the feast of Christ the King. The procession is organised on every last Sunday of the liturgical calendar to mark that Christ is the king of the universe. Some devotees in the procession were holding banners with messages of harmony, faith and justice.

The procession began at St Xavier’s College and ended at St Xavier’s School, Loyola hall, covering a distance of around three km with flower girls, religious leaders and devotees being a part of it. Devotees gathered at St Xavier’s College for an afternoon mass and wished each other ‘Happy feast’.

During the procession, the devotees carried out a monstrance with a piece of bread. Explaining, Bishop Thomas Macwan said, “During the procession, we carry the body of Christ in the form of bread. We believe that Jesus exists in the form of bread as he ate it during his supper.” He added that Christian devotees were meditating on a few Sundays prior to the procession.

Every year, the procession is taken out from Mt Carmel to St. Xavier’s Mirzapur School. “But this year, due to procession of Muharram, we changed the route,” said Bishop Macwan.
Though the feast is called Christ the King, the connotation of king

and kingdom is different. Explaining it, Parish priest of St Xavier’s parish, Father V Dias SJ said, “Though we believe that Christ is the king of the universe, we believe that he will come to establish a kingdom of peace, justice and harmony.”

Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest and human rights activist said that Jesus believed in having kingship of truth and harmony. “It is not about glory of being king, but about serving humanity,” he said. The new liturgical year begins next Sunday.